Christmas!

First of all I would like to say Merry Christmas to everyone at Methley in particular the reception children and their families. This term has been very fruitful and has seen all the children progress in their learning. It has been a long term and the children have carried on enlightening us with the excellent enthusiasm and attitude towards their work. I hope they manage to have a rest (which they thoroughly deserve) over the holidays! Let's hope that the Spring term will be just as succesful if not better!
All the best for 2008
Mr Mills

Open Morning

Can I take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who came into school today. It is lovely to see you sharing in your child's learning and development and them explaining their daily routines to you. It was probably an eye-opener to lots of you in my class to see that actually there are 21 bosses at times organising the class and the classroom - and unfortunately I am rarely allowed to be one of them! For any parents who couldn't make today and would like to visit the class please contact us and we will arrange an alternative date.

Parents Evening

Please can you let us have your reply slips for parent/ carers evening as soon as possible so that we can try to ensure that we have given everybody appointments as close to the time requested as possible. Thanks.

Also I have been asked about bringing children along and we would request that you don't bring them as feedback at such an early age can discourage learning, exploring and confidence rather than boost it. If it is a childcare issue (or if you have an appointment close to school hometime) please ask them to sit in the central waiting area whenever possible. If this causes any issues please see your childs class teacher prior to the appointment.

Open Morning

Another quick reminder that it is open morning on Wednesday when we open our doors and invite you to join us and your children for as much or as little of the morning as you can manage. We look forward to seeing you.

Fancy dress day

Please remember that Monday is fancy dress day when we would like to see everybody dressed up as their favourite book character. All staff will be joining in too to make the day as fun filled as possible. We are asking for a donation for the day in order to be able to purchase staging for productions.

There will also be a bun sale from 2.30 onwards in the hall to raise funds. Any donations of buns will be gratefully appreciated and we hope to see you after school for a cuppa and a chat!

Hello all!

I thought it was about time that Miss G had a bit of company on the blog so I thoght I would write a quick note! As some of you know this is my 1st teaching post and I would like to say it has been great to work with all the kids in reception! They have made my 1st fews weeks very pleasurable (if a little exhausting) and I am looking forward to a good 'run-in' to Christmas. They have all been progressing really well & I would like to say please use the phonics sheets that Miss G has taken her time to upload onto the blog, it really does help when the kids practise at home!!
Speak Soon,
Mr Mills

Science

This week we will be starting our Ourselves Science topic and if you have a spare minute or two there are some internet games which your children may enjoy playing. Please only play Family Farm or Abracadabra at the moment and I will let you know about the others as we cover them in class. Thanks.

http://www.educationcity.com/content/activity.php?bbtn=L2Zyb250L2lzZXQxL21hcC8/bHZsPTFfM18xXzFfMSZydGU9&id=529&mi=MV8zXzFfMV8x&v=1

http://www.educationcity.com/content/activity.php?bbtn=L2Zyb250L2lzZXQxL21hcC8/bHZsPTFfM18xXzFfMSZydGU9&id=531&mi=MV8zXzFfMV8x&v=1

Our first week back

I hope that you have enjoyed your week off and are ready for a huge 8 week build up to the Christmas holidays. The children were really settled yesterday and came in with lots of tales to tell about their holidays which was brilliant.

This week in our Numeracy (number work) we will be looking at representing and reading data on pictograms and tally charts. Please ask your child what they have been drawing these about and what they have learnt.

In Literacy we are using visualisations to show the children how they can use each of the areas of provision. A visualisation is a special learning story where we take the children on a virtual journey to learn different things. This week they have met a special friend of mine Professor Know-it-all and he is encouraging them to read, write, and use our equipment nicely.

Harvest Assembly

I have received a few comments - both from the blog and through discussions about the harvest assembly so thank you. I appreciate that it is difficult to see the children at the moment but we are trying to remedy this as the PTA (Friends of Methley) have been saving to buy the school a new stage which fingers crossed will be in place for our Nativity performance before Christmas.

Homework

Please do not worry if your child was away on Friday they will be able to pick up the homework sheet from school when they return.

Homework

Yes it's true 6 weeks into big grown up school and we have given them homework. I hope that it will not be too testing for the holidays and as part of our Investors in Pupils work it will allow us to learn a little bit more about each other (I will be doing it too!).

Have a fab holiday and remember a nice early night will help us all be in a better mood on the Monday we return. Thank you for all of your comments (hint hint) and co-operation this term. I hope that your children have enjoyed it as much as I have.

You'll probably wish you had never asked now!

Phonics for parents

Here is a little more information about phonemes, etc but please tell me if you would like more. Would anybody be interested if I ran a "Phonics for Parents" class one afternoon or after school? I am more than willing to do things like this so please let me know what you would like and when so that I can see what can be organised.

Phonics

Please continue to look at these each week with your child / children as it does show in the progress that they are making. One parent of mine has printed them out and sticks them into an exercise book for her child to look at and write the letters - great idea!

Phonics

I was asked last night at the Curriculum Evening for more information regarding phonics and the terminology. I am still trying to find a complete list of phonemes for you.

Old Newspapers

I know - I'm always after something! Well this time I'm asking if you can please bring in your old newspaper which can be used to protect the tables in our creative areas. Thanks again.

Harvest Assembly

A great big thank you to all of the parents / grandparents / aunts / uncles and friends who came to our harvest assembly this morning. We hope that you now know how to make some lovely soup, all about fluffy cauliflowers and how to recognise a dingle dangle scarecrow. I know that the children thoroughly enjoyed the singing especially will such a huge audience. Thank you also for the donations towards the Jane Tomlinson appeal - we will keep you posted about this.

Harvest Donations

We usually ask for donations of some sort around Harvest which is forwarded to a worthy cause and this year is no different although we have left it quite late to inform you (apologies for this). It has been suggested that this year we ask if you would be so kind as to send a financial contribution in a sealed envelope marked "Harvest donation" which will be sent to the Jane Tomlinson Cancer Appeal which I am sure you will all agree is a fitting tribute to a lady who was an inspiration to us all and who recently lost her brave fight against cancer.

School Photographs

Please remember that your child will have their photograph taken on Wednesday 17th October. The photographers will arrive at 8.15 am for family shots and each child will have an individual photo taken during the day.

Phonics week 6

Here is your homework for this week. Happy learning!

Curriculum Evening Number 2

Please do not feel that the upcoming Curriculum Evening will repeat things that we have already told you. This is more of an opportunity to see what happens throughout the school and how subjects are introduced and built upon for example how numeracy is taught using number lines, how scientific enquiry skills are introduced and used, what is big writing and how it is used.

There will be opportunity to attend 2 sessions during the evening which you will sign up for at the introduction (so come early to get in there first!).

Hope to see you there.

Harvest Assembly

We will be holding a Harvest Celebration Assembly on Tuesday 16th October at 9.15am during which we will sing you a few of the songs we have been learning this half term and share some pictures. This assembly will be shared with year 1 and 2 and will last about half an hour or so. We would love it if you could join us.

Helpers!

Only me again! Just to say that please don't be shy and wait for an invitation - helpers are always very welcome and it doesn't need to be every week so that you feel tied just let us a day or so before that you would like to pop in.

I look forward to seeing some of you soon! Miss G

Curriculum Evening!

A huge thank you to everybody who came and the feedback that we've received. Please do tell us what we are doing well as well as things that you would like us to do better or more often!

If you would like to blog but feel a little nervous or want to ask something you can be anonymous or if you put "do not publish" on the top I will reply without putting your comment onto the blog.

Thanks, Miss G

ps I don't feel quite as lonely now!

Phonics

I hope this works because I'm using a different computer (home computer problems!)

Miss G

Curriculum Evening

Please remember that tomorrow evening is curriculum evening. This is an important evening for us to pass on information to you about what is and will be happening in school. We look forward to seeing you there.

Tights

As winter is rushing towards us we have noticed that a number of girls are now beginning to wear tights for school. We would request that if possible girls wear trousers for Thursdays which is PE day for reception until they are confident that they can put their own tights on. Thank you.

Phonics week 3

Ok well the last one was not quite as central as I'd have liked but we'll keep trying!

Phonics week 2

Ok well that seemed to work ok so let me try week 2! I would be grateful for any feedback regarding this or any other of my blogs - I'm feeling very lonely!

Phonics

We are currently experimenting with displaying the Jolly Phonics that we are teaching on the blog (I'm not quite sure if it will work yet). I have been asked where material can be bought to support your children and can tell you that the Early Learning Centre have a wide range of the posters, books, etc. I am hoping (if this works) to dislay the materials we have taught on the Thursday of each week and we would ask you that you could spend a little time each week with your child looking at the material. Please can we also ask that you do not jump ahead of us as this will cause confusion for the children. Here goes...

Pump Bags

You will be pleased to hear that the pump bags have finally reached us and will be distributed on Friday 28th September. Thank you for your patience.

Baa Baa Stripey Sheep

We are asking all parents / grandparents if they have any unwanted wool that we could use to knit our "babies" in Reception and Year 1 some more clothes as winter is approaching fast and they are beginning to shiver in the items of clothing they have currently. Thanks.

Our next RE topic

Our next RE topic is entitled "People who help us" and I am writing to appeal to anybody who works within the emergency services, medical profession, caring profession or any other profession covered by this umbrella statement! If you would be willing to visit for about 15 or 20 minutes and share with us details of your job please contact Miss Gott as visitors help make our curriculum as varied and interesting as possible.

A Village Walk

What could be better than a stroll around the village with excellent company? If you are currently thinking "nothing" then we would like to invite you to do just that. On Monday 1st October each reception class will be walking around the village to look at land uses within Methley. We would like to ask if you could spare just over an hour to join us as we would like everybody to have a hand to hold. Please contact us as soon as possible if you are able to join us or use the reply slip on the walk letter. Thanks

Curriculum Evening

Just a quick reminder that Curriculum Evening for Reception and Year 1 will be on Wednesday 3rd October from 6pm til 8pm. During this meeting we will be informing you about the subjects and topics we are teaching and the methods of teaching reading, phonics, etc. There will also be opportunity for you to have a look in the newly organised classrooms and of course take part in some valuable learning through play within our provision areas. We look forward to seeing you there.

Odd sock appeal!

We know that this may sound a strange request but please can you hunt through your sock drawers for us and send in any odd/old/too small socks that we could use for sock puppets please. If you are wondering...they will be used to make snakes - obviously! Thankyou.

Happy New Year!

WOW what a start to an accademic year! I'm hoping that you are all enjoying it as I am. As you know it's the first time that I've taught in a Reception class for a while and I'm pleased that we all have managed to settle in well (including me!).

Please do not hesitate to ask any member of the team if you have any questions and we will try our best to answer them.

A few questions that I've already been asked-

When are we getting our pump bags? Unfortunately these haven't been delivered to us yet but we are in the process of chasing them - big apologies!

When will we get books to bring home? We will be carrying out assessments for reading during the next few weeks and all children will be given a reading book once these assessments are complete.

Hopefully we will be able to answer many more of your questions on October 3rd during the Curriculum Evening.

Guided Reading

Thank you for your continuous support with your child's reading at home. The children are enjoying their guided reading sessions and are continuing to develop their skills. Please continue to change your child's book with your child in our new Home Reading Library.

TOPIC

Our topic for the rest of the half term is Place. We will be looking at different countries around the world and different habitats of animals. Please discuss this with your child at home and please bring into school any photographs you may have of different places and countries your child may have visited.

Sunny Days!

Now that the summer has arrived please can you make sure that your child is wearing sun cream when they come to school and that they bring a sun hat for playtimes.

Naming Belongings!!

Please make sure that ALL your child's clothing and PE kits are labelled with your child's name to avoid any mix ups!

Nothing Project

Our topic for this half term is the Nothing Project. The aim of this project is to develop the children's personal' social and emotional well-being through the use of a story. The story we are using is called 'Nothing' by Mick Inkpen. The story is about a little old cuddly toy who thinks his name is Nothing because that is what everybody says he is. The story tracks 'Nothings' adventures on his quest to identify himself. Eventually he is found by a child's Grandfather who recognises the toy as his favourite cuddly cat from when he was a baby. Nothing is then cared for and transformed back to Toby the Cat. The Grandfather then gives Toby to his new Grandchild for him to be loved all over again. By sharing this story with the children we aim to discuss a range of emotions and look at showing respect for others. Please discuss this project with your child at home and ask them how they felt about the story of Nothing.
We would like to create a class display area of the children's old and broken toys from home that they may think are now 'Nothing' for us to discuss through circle time. If you have any toys that would be appropriate for the display please give them to your child's teachers. Thank you.

Percy the Park Keeper

This week we are going to start reading books about Percy the Park Keeper as part of our Living Things topic. We will be talking about planting seeds so if you have any plants, seeds or gardening equipment that you could bring to school for our role play and science area we would most appreciate it.

Guided Reading

We spoke to you at parents evening about our new guided reading systems. We will be starting guided reading with the children this week so please ask your child about this to see what they can tell you about their new book. We will keep you informed to when our new home reading library is up and running.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back after the Easter Holidays! We hope you all had a lovely Easter and that you enjoyed all the wonderful weather! Please could we ask that you make sure your child has a sun hat at school to wear when they are outside. If you want your child to wear suncream at school could we please ask that you apply this to your child before they come to school. Thank you.

Parents Evening

We are looking forward to seeing you all at parents evening and discussing with you your child's progress and how you can help at home. Please make sure you have returned your slip to your child's class teacher. If you have not yet recieved your allocated time slot please see your child's class teacher. Each interview will be scheduled to last 10/15 minutes.

Mrs Reynard's is available:

Tuesday 20th March 3.30pm - 7.00pm

Wednesday 21st March 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Thursday 22nd March 9.00am - 12pm

Miss Medd's is available:

Tuesday 20th March 3.30pm - 7.00pm

Thursday 21st March 1.00pm - 3.30pm

If you are unable to make the times available we will be able to accomodate you on a different day. Thank you. Our aim is to consult with parents/carers of every child in our school.

P.E. Days!!

P.E. bags need to be brought into school on Monday and then taken home on Friday. Please make sure that your child brings their P.E. kit or they will be unable to do P.E. Please remember to label EVERYTHING!

Mrs Reynard's P.E days are Wednesday and Thursday.
Miss Medd's P.E days are Wednesday and Thursday.

Our new topic!

Our new topic is Living Things. In Reception we will be thinking about mini-beasts, pets, farm, jungle and wild animals, birds and plants. Please discuss this with your child at home to find out what they have been learning and feel free to bring into school any books information or artifacts that may be of interest!

Watch this Space!

Work in Progress...